How to send a large video file for free

Video files are too big for email. Here are two ways to send one for free with Ferndrop, and how to choose.

Send a file

Option 1: send it directly

If the other person can open a page at the same time as you, use Send directly. The video goes from your browser to theirs. It is not stored on our servers, and we set no size limit, so a 20 GB export is fine.

1. Open ferndrop.com and drop the video in.
2. Choose Send directly and copy the link it gives you.
3. Send them the link. When they open it, you confirm the connection, and the transfer starts.
4. Keep both pages open until it finishes.

The person receiving should use Chrome or Edge for very large files. Those browsers save straight to disk. Other browsers hold the whole file in memory first.

Option 2: send a link that works later

If they can’t be online right now, choose Get a link. You upload the video, up to 2 GB, and share the link. They can download it whenever they like in the next 48 hours, and then it is deleted.

If the video is bigger than 2 GB and they aren’t online

• Export a smaller version for review. A common H.264 export is much smaller than a master file, and fine for feedback.
• Or split the file into parts and send each as its own link.
• Or agree a time and send it directly.

Tips

• You don’t need to zip a video. It is already compressed, so zipping rarely helps.
• Use a cable or good Wi-Fi, and don’t let the computer sleep during the transfer.
• For private footage, send the link and any password by different routes.

More answers are on the help page. Ferndrop is free, needs no account, and profits go to planting trees. See how it is paid for.